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I’ve said it before, but I’ll preface my reaction to Kendra’s chivalry post with this: I’m a feminist. I have no problem at all with respect and kind gestures towards other people.

What I do have a problem with is the idea that I deserve that treatment from men simply because I have a vagina. Sure, if I’m walking into a building behind someone else, it’s great if they hold the door open for me. I do that for people all the time. It’s common courtesy. But having a guy rush up to open the door for me is totally unnecessary. If that’s your thing, go with it.

I can pay for my own dinner. I get that the idea of a man paying for a woman’s meals has been romanticized, but honestly, I prefer the idea of a man respecting my wish to pay for my food with the money that I worked hard to earn.

The whole threat-of-rape issue that makes women feel as though they cannot walk at night by themselves is a sad truth in our society. But that doesn’t mean that I always need an escort home. The idea that women are the only ones at risk if they walk home by themselves is insulting to me. Guys can get mugged, assaulted, raped. Why can’t we just all look out for each other?

I don’t think there is such a thing as “necessity of chivalry.” I think there is a need for the respect and common courtesy that I mentioned earlier. We can all benefit from that, regardless of gender.